From: Kelly Pierce 
Subject: how to choose assistive technology
participate in a public accommodation, such as a college career
or academic program.  Choosing the right product is just half the
journey.  Choosing the right person to turn dreams into reality
is the other half.
Who conducts evaluations?  
Generally, evaluators (or, people who conduct AT assessments)
fall into four categories: rehabilitation
engineers/technologists, vendors, therapists and consultants. 
People conducting evaluations vary widely in their skill level. 
Some are licensed, others are not.  
 Rehabilitation engineers/technologists use the principles of
engineering design and application of adaptive technology for
people with disabilities.  They may or may not have Master's
degrees in rehabilitation engineering.  A vendor sells equipment
for a company or companies.  Therapists are professionally
trained and licensed in a specific medical discipline, such as
speech, physical, occupational or rehabilitation therapy.  In
Illinois, these therapists must be licensed.  A consultant can be
a licensed therapist, a rehabilitation engineer, a really
creative person or just about anyone.  There are no licensure or
educational requirements to hang out a shingle and declare
oneself a consultant.  Unless you ask about experience, training
and credentials, you will not know.  
Just having a license or degree does not guarantee that a person
is an adaptive technology expert.  Nor does the fact someone is a
vendor or consultant preclude them from being an adaptive
technology expert.  It is important to ask about a person's
credentials and experience before an assessment.  Nevertheless,
do not stop there.  
Here are some questions you can ask to learn more about a
potential adaptive technology specialist's skills and talent.
How long has the person been recommending this type of AT?  How
many devices of this type has the specialist recommended? 
Experience builds credibility, skill, knowledge, and
familiarization with user needs.  Evaluators and specialists work
out better when they have been in the field for at least a few
years and have recommended, installed, trained, and serviced many
devices and assisted many users in a general AT area, such as
blindness.  Be wary of those who have serviced a limited number
of individuals in the past year, unless they come with extremely
high recommendations from very credible end users.  
With what age range and/or disability type does the person
primarily work?  Some work with people in a particular age range
or disability type, such as blindness.  If you are a 35-year-old
adult and the person has only worked with children up to this
point, be wary.  Likewise, if you have reduced vision and are
quadriplegic and the person has only worked with blind
individuals, additional expertise might be needed.  
What is the track record?  Do the recommendations represent a
variety of manufacturers and devices?  Learn about a person's
track record from other blind computer users.  Ask others that
you know their opinions of the evaluator.  Connect with user
networks such as the Chicago Blind Computer User Network.  Ask
for at least three references of blind computer users that you
can contact.  Be sure that they have received similar services to
yours or are using similar devices to what you will be using.  If
the specialist doesn't have any or says it is "confidential,"
look elsewhere.  People with disabilities should be able to
expect that adaptive technology specialists accept the same
degree of performance checking as someone hiring a handyman or
house painter.  High-quality evaluators and adaptive technology
specialist are well known and proud of their work.  They will be
happy to have you learn about it.  
Before buying anything, check out the recommendations with other
end users.  One resource that can be quite helpful is the
Internet.  This is of particular importance if the person doesn't
live in a really big town like Chicago with many sophisticated
end users.  There are more than 75 blindness-related electronic
mailing lists, many on adaptive technology.  End users,
professionals, vendors and dealers answer questions and exchange
information, ideas and solutions with each other daily.  For a
list of these with descriptions, go to
http://www.hicom.net/~oedipus/blist.html.  To obtain this list by
electronic mail, send an e-mail message to
listserv@malestrom.stjohns.edu and leave the subject line blank. 
In the body of the message type:  get blist info.  This file is
more than 200 kilobytes in size.  For just an index or listing of
all the mailing lists, send an e-mail message to the address
above with the command "get blist short"  
If the specialist may be called upon to participate in an ADA
complaint, lawsuit, employer grievance, or IDEA appeal, you
should anticipate that the other side would use past cases of the
specialist to question the credibility of the expert.  A long,
proven track record of recommending devices that have been used
successfully over time is the best defense.  
Are people satisfied with the particular products recommended? 
What kind of technology and products do others in a similar
situation use?  How independent are they with them?  Finding
similar end users and talking to them will take time.  Patience
and personal education will translate into long-term success and
avoid costly and irritating headaches when things don't work
together.
Vendors sell the products they recommend.  That is ok, many in
the field do.  Be careful with those who sell or are familiar
with products from only one company.  It is in their interest to
sell their particular product whether it works for the consumer
in question or not.  Use dealers that represent a variety of
companies and recommend a range of products.  How is the
specialist meeting individual needs if he is recommending the
same device for everyone?  Were all of the people really that
much alike?  For example, the most popular scanning software for
the blind, Open Book Unbound, did not support until recently the
Keynote Gold speech synthesizer from Humanware, Inc.  This
recommendation posed limited flexibility to blind end users who
may desire to add scanning capability to their computer systems. 
We will never find things like this out unless we ask, learn
about the relationships the dealer has, and check out user
satisfaction with the specialist, company and product. 
If a school district or a state rehabilitation agency is paying
for the evaluation, the evaluator should not be the one selling
the equipment.  Also, if the evaluation might be used later in
contesting an IEP or in an ADA complaint, this can be cited as a
conflict of interest and might damage the credibility of your
case.
How can you help me after the sale?  Realize that for success and
independence, the end user is initiating and developing a long-
term relationship with the adaptive technology specialist. 
Technology changes rapidly.  New products are released daily. 
Existing products are upgraded regularly.  Technology opens more
and more opportunities for people with disabilities.  What worked
for someone in the past may not meet their needs now.  Treating
adaptive technology specialists like order takers or disposable
agency bureaucrats will deny the end user of the tremendous
benefits of a long term partnership.  
Be mindful of the industry practice known as "stop and drop," and
as the name implies, little followup happens after the initial
sale.  This can often happen when a consumer aggressively selects
a local dealer solely on the basis of the lowest price for the
product.  However, for a product to work for most consumers, it
needs to be setup, installed, and configured to meet the specific
consumer's needs.  Additionally, quality technical support and
assistance is essential at the outset for a product to really
work for the consumer in the long run.  The lowest price is not
always the best.  The consumer is not simply buying a product but
a relationship with a company and dealer.  At some level, we get
what we pay for.
Good evaluators and adaptive technology specialists keep
customers and don't need to solely rely on product sales to earn
a living.  They have the talent to earn money through services
such as training, installation, maintenance, and upgrades.  They
should know about products and services that they don't sell such
as training tapes, books, online mailing lists, community college
courses and other resources that assist the end user in learning
and conquering the technology. 
Adaptive technology specialists, evaluators, and dealers may be
independent business owners or work for an agency or institution. 
Independents may be highly adaptable to individual needs and
flexible in their services.  They also may have little contact or
exposure with the disability community beyond their job. 
Agencies are as good as the people that work there.  Consider the
strengths and experience of the person working at the agency, not
just the strengths of the agency itself.  Agencies can be biased
too.  For example, the largest Chicago blindness agency has a
financial relationship with an Indiana-based producer of screen
readers.  Not surprisingly, this agency invariably recommends
only the screen readers that it sells.
What assessment procedures does the evaluator use to arrive at a
recommendation?  
Will the user actually try the device?  For how long?  What
outcomes or behaviors were observed during the device usage?  If
you have not used the device before, this is a must.  The
evaluation should go beyond a demonstration of how the adaptive
technology works.  It should include hands-on use of equipment
and software in the actual situations and settings faced by the
end user.  If it doesn't work, it is convincing evidence not to
purchase the device.  If it works for the end user, it is a
nearly irrefutable justification.  A natural experience with a
product during several weeks in the real world is far more
convincing than the unnatural experience of a half-hour long
highly structured evaluation at a demonstration center.
What standard does the evaluator use for his recommendation?  Is
it consistent with the legal standard in question?  This is
important if an employer, state rehabilitation agency, or a
school district is purchasing the adaptive technology, the
evaluator should be familiar with the standards and procedures in
the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act as
amended in 1992, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act.  These standards may vary considerably from the professional
opinion of the AT specialist or the preferences or desires of the
user.  What is best for the user may not be "appropriate" under
IDEA, or "effective communication" under the ADA.  Likewise,
rehabilitation funding allows for devices "necessary for
employment" and Medicaid will cover only those things "medically
necessary."  These are not complicated definitions to understand,
but the At specialist should be familiar with their meaning and
requirements.  For assistance in obtaining a specific standard,
contact a parent's group, ADA technical assistance center, or a
blind computer user network.  
Can the evaluator, trainer, or dealer use the device like the end
user?  People who sell, service, and evaluate adaptive technology
products such as screen readers should be end users.  Would you
buy a car from someone who doesn't drive?  Rarely do sighted
evaluators, trainers, or vendors have the screen turned off when
working with a blind end user.  With the low expectations our
society holds for people with disabilities, it can be difficult
to understand what works, REALLY WORKS, for the end user if
someone is not one himself.  
Above all, trust yourself.  Things that can't be described can
mean a lot.  You may feel difficulty in trusting the adaptive
technology specialist.  You may feel that he really doesn't
understand your needs or situation.  He may speak only in
generalities and not specifics.  He might be vague about the
experiences of other customers.  My experience finds that if the
end user is uncomfortable or unsure about the adaptive technology
specialist, blurred outcomes often result.  It is better to wait
and continue asking questions until one is comfortable then to
move forward.  Our feelings tell us a lot about ourselves.  Use
them to make the right choices.
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